


Back to the Bunker

by pallidvixen



Category: Half Life Trilogy - Sally Green
Genre: Black Witches, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Half Bad - Freeform, Half Wild, Hunters, M/M, The Alliance - Freeform, White Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-04 02:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4123104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pallidvixen/pseuds/pallidvixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan and Gabriel return to Mercury's bunker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Back to the Bunker

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place following the events of [_Reunion_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3926590). Spoilers for the events of _Half Bad_ and _Half Wild_.

I know we have to get back to Norway. At least we’ll be safe. Well, _safer_. Gabriel and I decide the safest way to get back to Mercury’s Bunker is through the cut in Spain. He says he knows where it is. We know that the Hunters were gaining strength in Western Europe, but it was mostly in Britain and France. Gabriel thinks Spain won’t be as affected yet. 

We travel from Germany into France over the next few days. I’m constantly watching for Hunters. I think about Jessica. I wish she were dead and Deborah was still alive. Jessica probably helped them execute Deborah and her husband. A husband I never got to meet. I hope he treated her well. I hope they loved each other for whatever time they had together. Arran is the only family I have left now. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose him. 

All the people I’ve lost haunt me: my mum, my gran, my sister, my brother-in-law, my father. My father who I had so recently found. Who told me he loved me even though he barely knew me. And yet, I loved him although I barely knew him. I think about all that the White Witches have taken from me. 

They didn’t just take my family though. They took my freedom. Locked me up like an animal. And then they tried to take my magic. I’m sure I would have died if my father hadn’t given me my three Gifts. Not only did they try to take my magic, Wallend tried to use it to manipulate me. To force me to kill my father. And who knows what else they would have used me for. 

Are Black Witches really so bad in comparison? I know my father killed many people. But the White Witches have taken so much from me. From others too. Any who dared to speak out against them. Taken loved ones. I’ve loved someone for a long time, although I’m not sure if that’s still true. I haven’t asked Gabriel about her, but I have a bad feeling about what happened. Part of me doesn’t want to know. Not yet. I think he would have told me if she were dead though. 

I’m angry. So angry. My hands start to shake and I feel adrenaline, the surge rising. I look back at Gabriel who is close behind me as we walk. “I’m going ahead.” I run. The running helps, being in motion. I focus on moving faster, through the trees, avoid the rocks. My body is thrumming with energy. When I’ve run for about half an hour I circle back to meet up with Gabriel again. I feel better now. 

*** 

France is still dangerous but we stop in a small village to eat. Gabriel always has money. I have a scarf wrapped around me and my gloves on. They are filthy but I don’t care. We sit in the small cafe. It’s shabby but warm inside and the food smells good. Gabriel speaks in rapid French to the waiter and I don’t understand any of it. The waiter places two menus down and brings a bottle of red wine. I can’t read the menu. I wouldn’t be able to read it anyway, even it were in English. 

“What do you want to eat?” Gabriel looks over the menu. 

“What do they have?” I leave the menu untouched on the table. 

“You should have the steak.” 

“Order me whatever.” 

I get up and go to the back of the restaurant where I find the toilet. I peel back my gloves and wash my hands. 

When I return to the table Gabriel is sipping on his wine. 

“Want some?” 

I shake my head. I don’t like the way alcohol tastes. The champagne we had at Van’s was the last time I drank. 

“It relaxes me.” 

“You need to relax?” 

“It would be nice, just for a little while.” 

I scan our surroundings. There is an elderly couple in the corner. No one else. 

The waiter brings Gabriel a bowl of soup. He eats some and then pushes it toward me. “Try some.” 

It looks like a bean and mixed vegetable soup. I bring the spoon to my mouth and taste it. It’s good. Warm and rich. 

“I bet you don’t eat enough vegetables.” 

I raise an eyebrow at him. “I don’t?” 

His eyes are gleaming as he leans forward. “Not when you’re _wild_.” 

I finish the soup. 

The waiter brings our food placing a steak in front of me and duck in front of Gabriel. It is good to have hot food again. 

*** 

When we get to Besançon, Gabriel steals a car. He cranks up the heat and takes off. The drive through the rest of France goes quickly. When we arrive in Spain I decide to ask. I have to know if I’m going to be seeing her again. Gabriel can sense there is something different. 

“What is it?” 

“Is--” I can’t say her name. “She…” 

“She’s gone.” 

He must have seen my face fall. 

“She went with your sister and the Hunters.” 

I feel sick. 

“That’s all I know. I saw her with them as we were running.” 

I lean my head against the window and wonder if they will kill her. Her uncle is in charge now. Would Soul kill his own niece? I know immediately that he would. She might be dead right now. Annalise escaped from them. And now she’s a prisoner once more. Her only ally, Connor, dead. I think briefly about trying to rescue her but I don’t know if Gabriel would agree again. I think I still love her, but each day I grow more unsure. 

Gabriel doesn’t say anything else and I appreciate the silence. 

*** 

Soon we will join the others. Greatorex, Nesbitt and Claudia saw me at the raid site, after we were ambushed. After I did what I did. Nesbitt knew, I’m not sure about the others. I wonder if he’s told them. I know he’ll have told Van. I don’t know if Van would have told Celia. 

We ditch the car and go into the woods. I follow Gabriel as he leads us to the cut. He stops suddenly and reaches up. Gabriel offers his hand to me. I take it and hold on. He finds the cut again and we are sucked through. I tried to exhale the whole way. We both stumble for a moment, my hand still in his, before we right ourselves. 

Celia and Nesbitt burst through the door, Celia holding a gun and Nesbitt wielding a big knife. 

The instant he sees me and Gabriel he calls out to the others, “They are alive.” 

Celia lowers her gun. 

Van steps into the room. “Welcome back.” 

Arran is right behind her. He looks at me for a moment before crossing the room, quickly folding me into a hug. 

“Nathan.” 

“Arran.” 

He is still holding me and I don’t want to let go yet. I squeeze him harder to me before reluctantly letting go. 

Arran looks me over. “I should probably check you out.” 

“He’s fine.” Gabriel looks at us with a small smile on his face. He looks almost sad. 

“Come,” Arran says and ushers me out of the room. He leads me to the kitchen and hands me a roll and some cheese. 

I start to pick apart the roll. When I’m done eating he takes me into the room he’s been assigned. 

He asks where I was and how the trip back with Gabriel went. I don’t think he knows what I did. I don’t want to talk about it yet. Not now. Not with him. I worry that he will react to my Black behaviour poorly. Like another White Witch I love. I don’t want to see the horror in his eyes and so I say nothing. 

*** 

I don’t remember falling asleep with Arran but waking up together is nice. Definitely a positive. I think of him holding me when we were younger and feel calm. My older brother, trying to protect me. I see a bowl of night smoke on the dresser. Nesbitt brings us breakfast. Lots of eggs and bacon which I eat quickly. Arran says we have to get to an Alliance meeting in a little while. He tells me to go shower. 

In the shower I scrub myself hard. My skin gets pink by the time I’m done. It feels good to be clean again. It feels very human. When I step back into the room Arran has laid out clothes for me. I pull on the boxer shorts and jeans then the tee shirt and jumper. I wander outside and follow the voices. 

Celia tries to call everyone to order. Gabriel and Arran are in one corner talking quietly to each other. Greatorex, Claudia, Nesbitt, Van and a few others that I don’t recognize gather round the room. I walk over to Arran and Gabriel turning to watch Celia. 

“We are in the process of assessing all of the damage to Alliance members and meeting places.” 

Greatorex steps up. “News has spread of Marcus’s death. At the moment we aren’t sure whether or not this helps or hurts our cause.” 

“In the meantime we are still recruiting and working on training new members. We need to build our numbers up again.” 

Greatorex goes over a training schedule for the next few days. Then the meeting breaks up. 

*** 

I get assigned a room. The same room I was in with Annalise. I don’ts spend much time there. Gabriel and I are in heavy rotation for training but each free moment I get I spend with Arran. I watch as he trains some of the other Alliance members in basic first aid. I notice he and Gabriel spending time together too. I wonder what they talk about. 

One night Arran asks me about what happened. I tell him to ask Gabriel. Maybe _that_ is what they have been talking about. I worry about him knowing, but it would have come out eventually. Gabriel tells me not to be ashamed of who I am. I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I’m not scared that my brother won’t love me anymore. 

The next night he asks me if I want to talk about it. I’m nervous. Worried what he thinks of me. I killed my father. I ate his heart. 

“I never wanted to do it. I tried to refuse. He wanted me to. He said he didn’t want them to go to waste.” 

“It must have been very difficult for you. I know you loved him.” 

My throat tightens and I swallow several times. “I did.” 

Arran hugs me. “It’s okay, Nathan. It’s okay to feel sad.” 

I laugh against his chest slightly hysterical. “I killed him.” 

“That doesn’t mean you didn’t love him.” 

“You don’t hate me?” 

Arran pulls back and looks at me seriously. “Why would I hate you?” 

“I’m a killer.” 

He is quiet for a moment. “You are my brother. I’m never going to hate you.” 

“Does the same go for Jessica?” 

His face turns to stone. “No. She has been dead to me for a long time.” 

“Do you love her?” 

“I did. Long ago. Before she changed. You’ve never changed, Nathan. You are still who you are. Just more now.” 

“But I have changed. I had never killed anyone before. Now I’ve killed lots of people. Sometimes I’ve liked it. I killed Kieran.” 

Arran doesn’t flinch or look horrified. “He deserved it.” 

A bit of relief washes over me. 

“I love you, Nathan. I’m proud of you. You have survived so much. And you are still _you_. You’re in touch with your Gift. You’ve grown into an amazing witch.” 

I can’t stop the tears from escaping now and I let myself break down. I cling to Arran as I cry and he runs his hand up and down my back trying to soothe me. Eventually I quiet down. I think about love. My brother’s love. I know that Gran loved me. I know Gabriel loves me. I thought Annalise loved me... 

“I loved Annalise,” I whisper. 

“I know.” 

“After I told her about Kieran...she wasn’t the same. After she saw me during the raids...what I do. What I am.” 

“You saved her. No one else would have. Gabriel told me what you had to do to save her.” I think about killing Pilot. Killing Mercury. We wouldn’t be in her bunker now if I hadn’t killed her. 

“If she doesn’t love you she is a fool.” 

“She said I was like my father.” 

“Your father was a great witch.” 

“Did Gran tell you about him?” 

“No.” 

“They were in love. He and mum. He never attacked her. Gran told me. She said that they would meet each year in secret. They loved each other but couldn’t be together because he was Black and she was White.” 

“She always loved you.” 

“It’s my fault she’s dead.” 

“No it’s not.” 

“It’s my fault Gran’s dead too.” 

“Nathan, no. They both loved you. It’s the Council’s fault.” 

“I promised him I would kill them all.” 

“Promised who?” 

“My father.” 

“Will you?” 

“I’m going to try.”

**Author's Note:**

> Update: Sort of sequel: [Wales](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4123140).
> 
> I'm [pallidvixen](http://pallidvixen.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


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